Seven
months after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, Orson Colby
took home a gold and silver medal at the Norton USA Luge Youth National
Championships on Feb. 29 to March 1 at Lake Placid, New York.

He also
won the luge youth nationals in Park City last year, posting the fastest time
in his division by over a second. But last August, the 14-year-old Riverton
resident tore his ACL.

“He was
non-weight-bearing for 12 weeks,” said his mother, Kelly Colby. “It was hard,
but he never got discouraged; he worked hard to get back at it.”

Part of
the rehab process involved being able to stop the sled at the end of the race
and carry a 50-pound sled. Colby wasn’t cleared to start doing runs until Dec.
20, a little over two months before nationals, but said he was ready to go for
Lake Placid.

“I was
100% [physically] but still kind of in nervous mode [mentally],” Colby said.

There were
two separate seeding races, but the combination of the two events (four heats)
crowns the national champion.

The first
seeding race saw Colby claim gold finishing with the fastest times in both
heats. A rough start to his third run in the second race dropped him down to 10th.
He rebounded on the fourth run with the best time, which vaulted him up to
fourth for the second seeding race.

Between
the two events, Colby claimed silver with a combined time of 3.13.458. In three
of the four races, he had the fastest time.

The Lake
Placid track is different from the Park City track (the only two tracks in the
United States). Park City’s track, where Colby practices regularly, is fast
with giant turns and more G force. Colby can get up to 62 mph. In practice, he
can only do five runs a day due to fatigue.

“Lake
Placid has more turns, and it’s a slower track; it’s more technical,” Kelly
said. “There was a learning curve.”

Colby said
overall he felt good about the weekend (including staying at the Olympic
Village), and was quick to congratulate his teammate Joey Heuser of Park City,
who took home the overall gold.

“I was
really proud of him that he did that,” Colby said. “For me, you just keep
moving forward.”

Colby now
awaits the announcement of the national team (scheduled for May 1). Kelly said
they hope to make the C (competitive) team, he’s been on the D (development)
team. He’ll also move up to the youth A division this year for ages 15-18.

It’s part
of the next step in a sport Colby started as a “thing to get a merit badge.” But
after being invited to try it on the ice, he’s been hooked ever since.

“He’s
played all the little league sports, but this has been the one thing he's never
complained about,” Kelly said. “Practices are 3.5-hour commitments with travel
time. He never complains.”

Colby remembers
feeling panicked his first time down the ice, but he “surprisingly didn’t hit
the wall” as much as he thought he would.

“A lot of
times when you overthink it, you hit the walls because you're only thinking
about that,” he said. “But when you relax and just think about the track, you
can go down nice and smooth.”

“Luge is a
relaxation sport,” Kelly said. “If they’re tense on the sled then you can’t
steer it.”

Luge has
affected Colby’s life off the ice too. He said he thinks faster, has improved his
reaction time and learned how to do hard things. Kelly noted his confidence,
focus in school and leadership abilities have also improved. Also, the
thermostat in his room was reset. He never gets cold.

Orson,
described as an adrenaline junkie by his mom, grew up on a motorcycle (it’s how
he tore his ACL) racing on tracks and riding trails. It’s easy to forget he
still doesn’t have a driver’s license.

He once
asked his mom, as they drove down the freeway doing 65 mph if it was scary to
drive this fast with cars by you.